2024 Fiat 500e

25 July 2024: By Alex Forrest

The Fiat 500e gets more people to say the C-word than any other new car. And they’re absolutely right. It is a cutie.

It’s a modern interpretation of the iconic and even smaller original Fiat 500 from the 1950s. Also affectionately known as the Bambino. But where the old one had a tiny two cylinder 500 cc engine. This one has no cylinders. It’s fully electric, faster, quieter and way more modern.

And it’s not the people’s car it once was. It’ll cost $58,290 drive away, which is $26,000 more than the regular petrol one. The 500e doesn’t have many direct competitors, but one of them is the Mini Cooper E, another small EV aimed at the retro-metro-electro niche. The Mini will cost about $59,740 drive away. In Australia, we’re only getting the fully loaded, range topping La Prima variant of the 500e, at least for now.

So now more than ever, the Fiat 500e is the automotive equivalent of Dunlop Volley shoes, previously affordable and functional and now pricier and primarily fashionable. So, it may have a role that’s different from the original, but does a 500e cut it as a four wheeled inner city fashionista? Let’s see if it really could be the Dolce of your Vita and whether I can make any more terrible Italian cliches.

Watch Alex test drive the 2024 Fiat 500e through Mosman Park or read the transcript on this page.

Interior & exterior

Of course, the 500e has plenty of retro feels, ranging from, of course, the headlights, its clamshell bonnet, the wheelbase is pretty short for a car this size, but also that very upright rear styling as well, which is reminiscent of the car that came well over 60 years before this one.

The colour on our test car is called Celestial Blue, but you can also get it in Rose Gold to match your iPhone or the collar on your Cavoodle.

The 500e has a thoroughly modern interior, but it’s also laced with longing references to its predecessor. Inside, there’s a single large instrument binnacle ahead of the driver, which is one retro reference. And of course, there’s the two spoke steering wheel, although it’s thicker and laden with buttons.

There’s a large 10.25-inch screen mounted high and centrally on the dash. The user interface is straightforward to use, but thankfully the screen doesn’t contain controls for the heating and air conditioning. They’re buttons instead.

There’s also the interior door opening buttons, which for the first time we’ve seen, have also been used for the start stop button. However, there’s an unusual way of selecting the gears, with individual push buttons rather than the lever.

Build and finish of the 500e’s interior is good, but not market leading. Frankly, it’s about right for a pricey but non-luxury car with its roots in affordable motoring.

There’s a lump on the driver’s side floor which pushes your left foot over to one side, which is fine for short trips but does get uncomfortable on longer journeys.

Finer details include the image of the Turin skyline in the centre storage tray. An image of the old 500 in the interior door handles and Fiat lettering stitched into the pattern on the seat cushions.

Practicality

There’s only so much you can expect in terms of space in such a small car, but it does still have some practicality. Storage in the front is pretty good, with reasonable options for your water bottle, your macchiato, or your continental roll.

There are only two rear seats, and they’re fairly tight, even though they might not be used often by buyers in its target market. Boot space with the rear seats up is 185 litres, and that’s smaller than you’d get in other subcompact hatchbacks, such as the Kia Picanto at 255 litres. And it’s tiny compared to small cars like the Mazda 3 at 295 litres. Access to the boot is good, though, because the rear hatch door is large and opens tall. There’s no spare tire provided, but that’s not really an issue for a city bound car where help is usually close by.

Driving Experience

There are idiosyncrasies, with the 500e, such as the door opening buttons and gear selector buttons, but they’re easy to adjust to, and the infotainment system has an intuitive user interface. Short trips are really where a car this size shines, and if you can handle the smaller size then it certainly makes a refreshing change from a SUV.

The 500e has plenty of punch to keep up with traffic and then some, though it isn’t what you call a performance EV. And it’s not meant to be one either. The 500e isn’t a sports car, and Fiat claims it’ll get to 100km/h in nine seconds, but its instant torque from standstill does make it feel quicker than this. And that’s exactly what you need around town.

Like its grandparent from the 1950s, the 500e’s best asset is its tiny proportions and all the benefits that come with that like its tidy handling, good visibility from the driver’s seat and of course, that super easy parking.

Specifications & Safety

With its lithium-ion battery in the floor, the 500e is heavy for its size. It’s only 3.6cm longer than a Kia Picanto, but it weighs 1290 kilos compared to the Picanto at 990 kilos. It’s a much heavier car than most other vehicles this size, but one upside to that is that most of the weight is down low in the battery, which does make a difference to the way the car handles.

Suspension is stiffer than you might expect in a vehicle like this, but again, that is due to it being small but heavy. If it had softer suspension, the body roll in corners would be excessive and it would pitch under braking, spilling your macchiato. That taut suspension does give the vehicle quite sporty handling, and it suits it quite well.

Sure, being in a vehicle this size might make you feel vulnerable amongst an armada of SUVs, but that’s a trade-off that you might consider in exchange for the 500e’s style and its manoeuvrability.

Powering the 500e is an electric permanent magnet motor, pushing out 87 kilowatts and 220 Newton metres. It’s fed by a 42 kilowatt hour battery that translates to a range of 311 kilometres, according to the WLTP official test. That’s not much compared to other, more mainstream EVs such as the Tesla Model 3 and BYD Atto, which have closer to 500 kilometres.

So, the 500e doesn’t have a big battery. But one advantage to that, of course, is that it doesn’t take very long to charge. Quite often you can get to 100% overnight on a 10-amp household plug, which is quite unusual for an EV.

The 500e has a four-star ANCAP safety rating, which is acceptable but not ideal. That score was achieved under the previous set of testing protocols, so, it’s unclear whether it would achieve that under the current requirements. But the 500e does have an extensive range of safety gear as standard, such as driver monitoring, auto braking, intelligent active cruise control and lane keep assist.

Likes & Dislikes

So, what do we like about the Fiat 500e? Well, obviously it’s as cute as a kitten sleeping on a baby panda, but it also performs well for a car this size. And that small size is excellent for driving around town and parking.

So, what don’t we like? Well, it’s expensive and the boot is tiny. Plus, the driving position is pretty uncomfortable, especially for your left foot.

Verdict

As a small, retro-styled, city suited electric hatchback, you don’t get a much narrower niche than the one occupied by the Fiat 500e. And while its appeal may not be broad, it’s still a likable, smile-inducing little electric bambino that many will see as a cheerful alternative to the plethora of small EVs on the market that take themselves way too seriously.